3D Electronic Institutions (3DEI) are 3D virtual worlds that are dynamically designed in response to the users’ needs and the rules of an electronic institution. Electronic institutions can be modelled as multi-agent systems inspired by analogous physical institutions. This paper describes coupling of a multi-user 3D virtual world to an electronic institution. The resulting 3DEI is a distributed and heterogeneous multi-agent system that provides the advantages of both with the organizational structures imposed by the electronic institutions and the spatial characteristics provided by 3D virtual worlds.